BBB Scam Stopperwas jointly launched by BBB and Western Union as a site to help consumers reduce their chances of becoming a victim of a scam.

“Scams are a form of financial abuse. Scammers create an expectation of trust that results in financial loss and considerable distress, especially to older people who fall victim,” said Carrie A. Hurt, president and CEO of the Council of Better Business Bureaus. “Awareness and education are the best tools we have in the fight against fraud.”

One prevalent scam that targets seniors involves prizes, sweepstakes and lotteries. Another is the emergency or grandparent scam, where the scammer pretends a family member is in trouble, and requests that money be sent urgently to help.

“Through our BBB partnership, we want to give consumers the resources they need to protect their hard-earned savings,” said Shelley Bernhardt, Director of Consumer Protection at Western Union. “It is one part of our commitment to consumer protection and empowerment.”

BBB Scam Stopperexplains the science of scams and how scammers gain their victims’ trust. Visitors can sign up to receive BBB Scam Alerts, weekly emails with the latest scams reported to BBBs across North America. Western Union promotes three basic money transfer “never evers”:

1. Never use a money transfer service to send money to someone you have not met in person.

2. Never send money for an emergency situation without verifying that it’s a real emergency; ignore the caller’s plea not to tell others; confirm through other friends and family.

3. Never send funds received by check until it officially clears in your account, which can take several days, or more.

The Western Union Company (NYSE: WU) is a leader in global payment services. Together with its Vigo, Orlandi Valuta, Pago Facil and Western Union Business Solutions branded payment services, Western Union provides consumers and businesses with fast, reliable and convenient ways to send and receive money around the world, to send payments and to purchase money orders. As of March 31, 2013, the Western Union, Vigo and Orlandi Valuta branded services were offered through a combined network of approximately 515,000 agent locations in 200 countries and territories and approximately 100,000 ATMs. In 2012, The Western Union Company completed 231 million consumer-to-consumer transactions worldwide, moving $79 billion of principal between consumers, and 432 million business payments. For more information, visit www.westernunion.com.

About BBB

For more than 100 years, Better Business Bureau has been helping consumers find businesses, brands and charities they can trust. In 2012, consumers turned to BBB 124 million times for Business Reviews on more than 4.5 million companies and Charity Reports on 11,000 charities, all available for free at bbb.org.

The Council of Better Business Bureaus is the umbrella organization for 113 local, independent BBBs across the United States and Canada, as well as home to its national programs on dispute resolution and industry self-regulation.